Things To Do This Weekend 18/19 August

Alex Horne and David Bond deliver the weekend roundup

Music - Fuyuki Enokido at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School

For one hour only this Saturday word famous koto player Fuyuki Enokido will be performing at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. The koto is the national instrument of Japan and can be dated back to the earliest periods of Japanese musical history. The evocative and haunting nature of the instrument’s sound has linked the koto to Japanese folklore; particularly resonant is a section from The Tales of Genji where the protagonist falls in love with a woman solely through hearing her play. Enokido is a graduate of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and won the first rank prize at the Yatsuhashi Kengyo Japan Art contest in 2007. Her performance begins at 2pm and entry is free.

The Koto

Party - High Five for MCR at 2022nq

In support of local charity Forever Manchester the city’s newest basement venue 2022nq will be hosting a party featuring resident DJs from five of Manchester’s heaviest and well respected club nights including The Warehouse Project and Zutekh. All of the £5 entry fee will go to the charity which is dedicated to supporting local people and groups in improving the Greater Manchester area through community action. At midnight there will be a prize giveaway where one lucky attendant will win tickets to five club nights taking place over the next two months including a ticket to The Warehouse Project welcoming night which sold out at an unbelievable speed a few months ago.

2022nq, 20/22 Dale Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester M1 1EZ

Forever Manchester

family - Barclays Premier League Trophy Tour

To mark the start of the football season an interactive tour will be coming to Albert Square this weekend which invites all the family to gain a greater insight into the beautiful game and come tantalisingly close to the holy grail of English football - The Premier League Trophy. The thirty minute tour takes place across four different zones and all visitors will receive a unique personalised souvenir to commemorate the occasion. Manchester is fittingly the first UK stop for this tour which has just accommodated tens of thousands of visitors in the Middle East and Asia. Although the tour is free there are limited spaces and potential visitors are advised to prebook their tour here.

Barclays Premier League Trophy Tour

Exhibition - HIV Positive Living Exhibition at Manchester Town Hall

In conjunction with the Manchester Pride festival the George House Trust is presenting an exhibition in the town hall of work by Mancunian artists living with HIV. The exhibition aims to increase the visibility of a group who often have to suffer in silence and dissolve the stigma surrounding the disease. The exhibition will run until the 29 August and is free for anyone to enter.

HIV Positive Living

Club - Cadenza Showcase at Sankeys

As part of this weekend’s focus on record labels at Sankeys heavy hitters from minimal god Luciano’s label Cadenza Records will take centre stage this Saturday. Headlining the night will be the Frankfurt juggernaught Reboot who will demolish the night with his dark grooves and relentless beats. Alongside Reboot on the lineup is Motor City’s Kenny Larkin who, over the course of his phenomenal 20 year career, has perfected a deep emotional techno which is distinctly his own. Also manning the decks are Andrea Olivia and Ellesse. Tickets are £12 and can be bought here.

Kenny Larkin

Kids - Angelina Ballerina The Mousical at the Palace Theatre

Angelina and her friends at Camembert Academy have won a once in a lifetime opportunity to appear on their favourite television program ‘Dances With Mice!’ but they can’t seem to agree on a routine. Watch Angela and the Dance Captain as they try to bring everything together in time for the show. This brand new musical is bursting at the seams with singing and dancing from the ballet girls and hip hop boys and is set to have all the kids in the house dancing in the aisles. Angelina Ballerina The Mousical is running from Friday 17 to Sunday 19 August and tickets can be bought here.

Angelina Ballerina the Mousical

Gig - Bad Manners at Band on the Wall

Ska stalwarts Bad Manners are bringing their in-your-face and off-the-wall brand of 2 Tone to Band on the Wall this Friday. Fronted by the inimical Buster Bloodvessel, whose onstage antics have, in the past, seen the group banned from Top of the Pops and the entirety of Italian TV, the band are as boisterous as ever. After a successful world tour last year the band have no intentions of slowing down and the gig on Friday will undoubtedly be a raucous affair with classics such as ‘Lip ip Fatty’ and ‘Special Brew’ sure to bring the house down. Tickets can be bought here.

Buster Bloodvessel

Sport – Premier League football returns

This weekend marks the start of the 2012/13 Premier League season. Expectations are high in Manchester as City look to retain the title whilst United have recently secured the services of former Arsenal man Robin Van Persie in order to step up their pursuit. City entertain Premier League newcomers Southampton at the Etihad stadium this Sunday at 4pm whilst United travel to Everton on Monday. Tickets for the game at the Etihad are of course sold out but pubs and bars will be full this weekend as football fans from both the red and blue sides of the city look to kick off the new season; hopefully with a win.

Fashion – #CelebrateMCRFashion event

Fashion Collective #CelebrateMCRFashion will be celebrating the best of fashion in the city this Sunday 19 August. The event is welcome to all who have a passion for fashion – there is no dress code and inflated egos are not necessary. The event welcomes anybody who has an interest in fashion and also an interest in breaking down barriers in the industry. Furthermore, a number of local celebrities will be there on the day including Coronation Street stars Ryan Thomas, Alan Halsall, Brooke Vincent and Andy Whyment. Chelsea Healey of Strictly fame and comedian Ralf Little will also be attending.

The event is free and takes place at Bluu Bar On Thomas Street in the Northern Quarter at 1pm this Sunday. Further celebration will take place at Rosso Restaurant on from 5pm.

Celebrate Manchester Fashion

Big Holes -

The Great Northern Tunnel Tours

These have to be booked ahead but are very very special, leading people into the atmospheric underworld of Manchester under the Great Northern Goods Warehouse. They are visually stunning but tell a moving story. If you feel tempted then remember to bring a torch and wear sensible shoes as the tunnel is dark and there is some mud. But if you're in good health and capable of walking down (and back up) fifty or so stairs to access the tunnel then you're in for an unforgettable experience. The tour lasts just over an hour.

This Sunday at 7.30pm the world famous Comedy Store in Manchester is staging an event: ‘New Stuff’. Although not the most imaginative of titles, this is one to look out for as the club will showcase new, never been seen or heard before material. Resident compère Toby Hadoke will host the evening, and it may be a chance to witness the next superstar comedian.

The Comedy Store is located on Whitworth Street West near Deansgate Railway station. Advance purchase tickets can be bought here, starting at £2 (minus booking fee). Food packages are also available.

Spooks - Haunted Underworld, the best ghost tour in Manchester

Manchester’s premier ghost tour, delivering dark, dastardly and moving haunted tales. Public tours at 5.30pm on Thursdays and Fridays and at 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays every week. So what happens? In a dark and mysterious undercroft of the city centre old stories are coming alive. Tales might include those of dead artists, sinister magicians, tragic lovers and body-snatchers. Expect the unexpected and also lots of laughs. People who are brave enough to come on the tour should try not to faint (something that happened last time). “I would like to thank Jonathan Schofield for scaring the bejesus out of me on the Haunted Underworld tour last night.” Andrew Jackson, Import Manager.

Meet at the War Memorial in St Ann's Square, 10 minutes before your tour time.

On Friday and Saturday this weekend plus various other dates the Manchester Museum is staging an exhibition celebrating the life and works of Manchester computer pioneer Alan Turing who from 1951-54 worked on early computers to uncover the mysteries of biology. His work was stopped in its tracks due to the state’s intervention into his personal life but his contributions to advances in biological science were greatly important. The exhibition is made up of Turing's own notes and museum objects. The exhibition is part of the Manchester Pride Festival.

The event is free, takes place between 1pm and 1.30pm and tickets can be booked by calling 0161 275 2648. Manchester Museum is located on Oxford Road, M13 9PL.

Beyond The Weekend - Linda Chatterton and Matt McCright

There are a number of events on at the Anthony Burgess Foundation in the coming months. Burgess was a Manchester resident who wrote, most famously, the novel A Clockwork Orange. On Tuesday next week you can make the trip down to the Foundation to see flute-piano duo Linda Chatterton and Matt McCRight play contemporary music at the Engine House performance space. The music on offer is diverse – including jazz, blues, and musical vignettes. Furthermore, Ailís Ní Ríain will introduce her piece and read from Burgess’ novel Earthly Powers which inspired the title of her new work.